| The last French soldier from the First World War, Lazare Ponticelli, died this week at the grand old age of 110, so it seemed only appropriate that the BRFC should play Rueil in a perfect re-creation of a Somme battlefield. However, apart from the mud, the mud, the mud and the mud (oh, and having to break down the locker room door after the match) there was also a rugby match to write about. The BRFC team ignored the atrocious conditions and hit Rueil hard from the first whistle and didn�t let up until they had a deserving 3-6 win under their belts.
There was no �Man of the match� at the time of writing which seems appropriate considering the team effort, however if one was forced to identify a group of individuals for specific praise then it must be our courageous forwards lead by our captain of the day, Bez. Not once, not twice but three times they held Rueil off our line and drove them back to the safety of our 22. This commitment is even more remarkable when you consider it was like playing in treacle, making rucks, mauls and scrums life-sapping�ly exhausting. And the scrums � statistics are still coming in but at the last count there were 1,345, 997 scrums identified during the game thanks to the howling wind and the butter-like ball. Well played forwards, and especially the 2 previous �front row virgins� � it must have been hell.
Despite the conditions there were still some wonderful moments of rugby. Individual runs from the likes of Sam, Bez and Neil reminded us that the Somme was still part of the land of champagne rugby. The Tindall Tackle award goes to Damiano for demonstrating to a couple of Rueil players that a perfect tackle involves lifting, turning and then driving the bugger back from whence he came � and if the �thwack� can be heard from the touchline then all the better!
With only 16 players it was not to be a day for injuries, however thanks to some soft sod limping off in the middle of the first half Pete McGahn�s boys got a glimpse of the BRFC �Comeback Kid�. Guy Grundy re-launched his Corpo career for the 39th time since first retiring and preceded to display an awesome array of skills culminating in a wonderful catch, chip, chase, tackle and capture of 35yards of enemy territory. Last, but by no means least, Zaab gave another example of what makes up rugby DNA (even if he is a yank) by going the distance despite a suspected broken hand and putting in a try-saving piece of �slow play� that Martin Johnson would have been proud of.
The luxury of substitutes and fresh legs has never been a frequent experience in the BRFC �team spirit has always been the winning element in every match we have won. However things may be changing. This week also saw the arrival of 3 new applicants for the BRFC rugby academy � Jamie P.R. Greatorex-Luijkx, Luca Beynon and Jonah Nour �Four-names� Moss-Bowpitt entered this world all showing good hand-eye co-ordination, solid ball skills and electric hair styles (a more and more important requirement for any budding international rugby star, worryingly for Nico!). The future is looking good for the BRFC! Well played guys.
Man of the match � Everyone
Points � 2 penalties (Eudes)
Captain � Bez
Match report � Justin
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Having dealt with the league and stayed up BRFC's attention turned to the cup. With the last 3 training sessions having been cancelled and a number of players away or injured it was always going to be a struggle to get a team together. After a lot of pleading, moral blackmail and threats (thank you Quentin) we finally mustered 16 players. This was meant to be a home fixture but with our own pitched already booked the game took place at Rueil's ground on a pitch that looked like the Somme battlefield, summed up perhaps by Bez's comment not long into the first half « Ref move the scrum. If it collapses someone could drown ».
Meanwhile the mud was having a strange effect on some of our players- Steve Emm, for his first appearance on the wing, had lost a few kilos and gained an American accent, and Sean had grown a few inches and lost his Brummie one.
The match was never going to be an expansive affair with the long experience of BRFC's stand in captain Rick (soon to beat Queen Victoria's record for longevity) struggling to contain the mercurial talents of Neil « Let's run it » Macleod, repeatedly being heard to shout « just kick the f...ing thing down the field ».
BRFC started well and were awarded with a penalty in front of the posts that Eude duly converted. This however signalled the start of a period of opposition pressure and they equalised with another straight forward penalty. Not long after we were forced to bring on the young, fresh legs of Guy Grundy when Justin took a knock.
The conditions meant that play lurched from one scrum to another and the thrown-together, new-look front row performed admirably, cheered on by their own fan club, -« Come on dad you can do it » - and in the tight the pack held their own. However the lineout was another matter, with only 2 balls secured all day � and that was on opposition possesion.
The first half ended after a second penalty and BRFC started the second half leading 6-3.
The turning point in the game came when Rueil passed up numerous kickable penalties in front of the posts to run them and were driven back time and again. Defense was superb with Nicolas Dolo and Damiano hitting the mauls hard and forcing Rueil's forwards back and Eude and Justin putting in typically robust tackles in the backs. Mark battled manfully at the base of the scrum and everyone did their part
The game ended with a period of BRFC pressure, with a number of good surges by Bez and a couple of bullocking runs from Antoniol but with no more points. With the job done the team headed to the clubhouse for a well-earned shower only to find the lock on the changing room door had seized. After several ill-advised shoulder charges and a wait of at least half an hour while the groundsman opened the door with a hammer and chisel, to the relief and surprise of everyone, we managed to get into the changing rooms.
Meanwhile Neil was providing a few surprises of his own in another set of showers, when a girl's team inadvertently tried to enter � like the game it wasn't pretty but .... the season goes on.
Final score BRFC 6 Rueil 3
Man of the match:
It's hard to pick a man of the match as everybody did their part and after 10 minutes everyone looked the same but special mention should go to Nicolas and Damiano for their rucking and mauling.
Rick |
